The city is paying $185,000 to Neal Malangone to settle his lawsuit alleging that he was beaten by an NYPD detective who was cleared of the allegations by then-Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly. (MySpace)

The city has paid $185,000 to a Queens man to settle his lawsuit alleging that an NYPD detective beat him during an arrest for throwing a trash can through his mother's window, the Daily News has learned.

Neal Malangone hit the jackpot despite hotly disputed interpretations of the 2008 confrontation, which was captured on a bank surveillance camera.

Advertisement

Malangone, 30, claimed that he was the victim of excessive force by Detective David Gross who, in turn, contended that Malangone had assumed a "boxer's stance" and resisted arrest in the vestibule of a Chase Bank in Queens.

The alleged beating occurred as Malangone was being arrested by Gross and two other detectives for throwing a garbage can through his mother's window.

The bank video showed Gross entering the ATM vestibule with his gun drawn and a small baton in his other hand. Malangone immediately raised his hands, then lowered his arms, walked to the middle of the lobby and appeared to be lowering himself to the floor when Gross kicked him in the back.

Gross struck Malangone in the head with his gun while subduing him, but the detective's lawyer insisted it was unintentional. Malangone claimed he suffered bodily injuries, emotional distress and humiliation, according to the $25 million suit filed in Brooklyn Federal Court.

While Malangone's suit was pending, he was arrested again for damaging his brother's Bowflex exercise machine — an act captured on surveillance video as well. That misdemeanor charge has been adjourned in contemplation of dismissal, according to court records.

The Civilian Complaint Review Board sided with Malangone in the ATM incident, but the veteran detective was found not guilty by a deputy commissioner and officially cleared by then-Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.

Gross' union lawyer said the six-figure settlement is exorbitant and sends the wrong message to those who would rather fight cops than submit to a lawful arrest.

"Whatever minor injury he (Malangone) sustained, it was because of his own actions," said James Moschella of the Detectives' Endowment Association. "The video surveillance of the incident entirely supported Detective Gross, and a civil jury could have very well sent this guy home without a nickel."

"It's not only discouraging to officers, but very dangerous as well," Moschella added. "We should be litigating more of these cases and not rewarding criminal behavior."

Malangone's lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.

A spokesman for the city Law Department said said the agency "determined that settling the case was in the city's best interest."

Gross has been named in at least five other lawsuits, according to data obtained by The News. Two of those lawsuits — one involving a teenager who was shot when Gross and his partner mistook a water gun for a Tec-9, and the other alleging Gross shot a Brooklyn man from behind for "no justifiable reason" — each settled for $250,000,

Gross, a 21-year veteran, retired from the force after he was cleared of the departmental charges in the Malangone incident.